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I am not paid or compensated in any way to write product reviews posted to this blog. There are affiliate links posted throughout this blog. So, when you click through on links and buy something, I may receive a commission. I pay for the products with my own funds. Product reviews always reflect my own experience with and honest opinion of the product as a consumer.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

CVS is my store and I love shopping there, because I save lots of money. Some of their products are overpriced, but if you know how to bargain shop, there are ways to get around this. I shopped there last week and took advantage of a sale on Dove products.

At the time of this blog post, a similar sale may still be in effect in the South Florida area. The advertised deal states that when customers spend $15 or more on Dove products, they will receive $5 in CVS Extrabucks. Dove body washes and 6-pack bar soaps are on sale for $7. Be sure to check with the store that you shop at, because may sales vary from store to store or region to region. Also, CVS runs this type of deal on Dove products several times a year.

Extrabucks are good to use on future purchases at CVS. If you aren’t aware of how the CVS ExtraCare rewards program works, I provide a little insight on the subject inanother post.

I decided to buy two-6 packs of Dove bar soap and 1 bottle of Dove body wash. Each product is on sale for $7. The total came up to $21, plus sales tax. I had 3 manufacturer coupons, which came from Sunday newspaper inserts, for Dove products and 2 CVS Extrabucks, so I applied them towards the total. The breakdown of the transaction is as follows:

Saturday, August 18, 2012

No job is perfect. I don’t care what anyone says. Some jobs are more tolerable than others and there are always duties and job responsibilities that you may not particularly like. At the present, I am working what is regarded as a menial, entry-level job in housekeeping. It is pretty much a no-brainer. You just have to follow directions, use common sense, be friendly, speak English fluently, and clean up messes. This job is probably the easiest job that I have ever had, when it comes to critical thinking skills and stress. The hard part is the annoyance of cleaning up after nasty people and being on my feet all day long.

I have had many high paying, “good jobs” in my adult working life. I am used to more professional jobs which require decision making skills, reading, writing, good communication skills, computer use, phone use, etc. These types of jobs usually pay more, but are more stressful. They are also harder to come by in this sluggish economy. This is why I am currently working in a menial position. I consider this to be a blessing, because a piece of a job is better than no job at all. Working in housekeeping beats sitting around with excess time one my hands or collecting unemployment checks hands down. Plus, I get along well with my supervisors and most of my co-workers.

This pretty much leads me to the whole point of this blog post. I don’t understand people that whine and complain about their job. There is no pleasing people that have a negative mind set. They choose to see flaws instead of the beauty in things. They bitch about everything under the sun to whomever will listen.

It seems that they think the world should function in the manner in which they see fit. They have a distorted sense of entitlement. People like that should just move on to another job, if they perceive that things are so bad. They need to just resign and do something else instead of complaining. Better still, they should stay home and drink their Whineken.

The thing that inspired me to write this post is a situation that occurred on my job. This one co-worker complained about where she was scheduled to work that day. I admit that most of the staff in my department doesn’t like to work in that area of the facility. It is very tedious work, so I understand why nobody, including myself likes to work there. It is not even a hard task, it is just extremely boring and repetitive.

After this co-worker complained to the supervisors that she doesn’t want to work there, she was moved to another area to work for the day. Guess who was asked to work where she should have worked? Unfortunately, I was told to work in this co-worker’s place. I did it, but I wasn’t very happy about it.

What pisses me off the most about this situation is that nobody else likes to work there, but nobody else really complains to management about it. Maybe I am just old school, but I don’t feel that anyone should complain about doing something that he or she is getting paid to do. Aside from that, I wouldn’t want the management to label me as “lazy” or “spoiled”. So, I just suck it up and do as I am told to do. Although I might be upset inside, I try to put a smile on my face and think happy thoughts.

The other thing that pisses me off about it is that the supervisors acquiesced and moved the co-worker, and she still wasn't happy. It is disappointing to me that the sups didn’t just tell her that she had to work wherever she’s told to work. She has to get used to being placed in situations or conditions that aren’t 100% comfortable. This would have been more fair and balanced, versus just delegating an unpleasant task to another staff member. Aside from this, she doesn't work any harder than the rest of us, therefore, she doesn't deserve preferential treatment. I see similar attitudes of entitlement in some of the other co-workers as well.

I won’t ever complain unless I am asked to do something unsafe or unreasonable. Right now I am trying to pay my dues, since I am still new with the company. I want to show the management that I am reliable and cooperative. In this way, when I am ready to seek a better opportunity with the company, I will get a good reference. It's very hard to garner respect from superiors when you complain too much or you don't want to work.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A friend of mine is in the market to buy a new vehicle. He asked me to go automobile shopping with him a few weekends ago. We went to a couple of new car dealerships to get an idea of what his options are.

Like I told him, the way things are now, he shouldn’t be thinking about buying a car. The economy is still sluggish and there is no real job security anymore. In most cases, you’re stuck with the responsibility of making car payments after you sign a sales contract. God forbid that you lose your job. Unless you have an emergency fund saved up, you could end up defaulting on the car loan. We already know what a repossession does to the credit rating.

Since he already has a good used car, he should just keep driving the used car until it conks out. I don’t understand why he is in such a rush to buy a new vehicle. The car that he has looks nice, drives really smooth, and the mileage is really low for the age of the car.

I have been driving the same car since 2003. I purchased the Honda brand new and it is still going strong after almost nine years of driving. I have not had any major problems with it, either. As long as people keep up with routine maintenance on their vehicles, they will last until forever. Unless I catch Lotto, I am going to continue driving the same car until it is no longer functioning. I don’t want any more car payments for a long time.

Another thing that I noticed about car dealerships is that the game hasn’t changed much since I purchased my very first car over 20 years ago. Car salespersons still play the same games to make a sale. They make everything look good initially on paper. At the last minute, they find a way to bring the price tag back up. They like to throw a lot of numbers at you at once to confuse you. Most salespeople that I have dealt with are rarely willing to give you copies of proposed deals for future reference. Apparently these types of tactics work on most customers.

In my friend’s case, he was told that he would get a $2,500 rebate off a starting price of $25,000. Plus, they would give him $3,000 for his car, if he trades it in. The proposed purchase price was brought back up to nearly $25,000 after fees and taxes. This doesn’t even include interest charges on the car loan.

The salesperson showed us this chart with “payment schedules”. One of the scenarios on the chart was $411 per month for 72 months. I asked the salesperson what interest rate the chart was based on. He said that he didn’t know off the top his head, but he guessed that it was about 9%. I am no math whiz, but I thought “Who in their right mind would pay 9% interest, when interest rates are rock bottom?” All you have to do is go to www.bankrate.com and see that the average car loan interest rates are at about 4.46% (for a 60 month loan a new car). My friend has good credit, so there is no reason for him to pay 9% interest.I convinced my friend that he should not rush into anything. If he really wants to buy a new car, he should continue shopping around. A smart person shops around for the best price on the vehicle that he or she wants, as well as the lowest interest rate on any car loan. Salespersons like to ask buyers what they want their monthly car payments to be. Consumers should never get suckered into focusing on a low monthly car payment solely.

The car salesperson started sweating bullets after we told him we were leaving. He brought in his manager, as they always do, to see if he could “work something out” for my friend to get him to buy today. The manager threw out an offer to my friend and told him that the offer was only good for the day.

It is their objective to make prospects feel a sense of urgency. They want to make prospective buyers feel that they are losing out on something if they don’t hurry and buy. For the most part, it is pure bullshit when a sales manager tells a buyer that a deal is good for that day only. The way I see it, if they really want to work with a buyer, they can make a deal happen anytime.

I know that is how car salespeople roll. It’s how they earn a profit, and I ain’t mad at them. But customers still have to look out for their own best interests. Anyways, we ended up leaving the car dealership without my friend driving away in a new car. I just hope that my friend won’t jump the gun and waste his money by buying a new car any time soon.
Copyright 2012 www.thewhimsicalmusingsofsusan.com

Monday, August 13, 2012

This is a review of Organix Hydrating Moroccan ArganOil Creamy Oil Body Wash. I purchased the product on sale at CVS in a 13 fl. Oz. bottle for roughly $7. This is my first time using the product and I bought it along with the Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Hibiscus Body Wash.

The manufacturer says that the body wash is creamy. However, I don't agree. It doesn’t have a very creamy consistency. It seems more of a cross between a thin cream and a liquid gel. The body wash produces a nice lather and it does leaves my skin clean without drying it out. With that said, the product does make your skin feel soft, but there is no deep hydration or moisturizing effect.

I used the product for a week and I didn’t see any noticeable difference in my skin. The wording on the bottle leads consumers to believe that product is a real stand out. It states claims such as “restores skins elasticity”, “promotes cellular turnover” and “Makes your skin glow all over”. This may be so for other folks, but this is not my experience using Organix Hydrating Moroccan Argan Oil Creamy Oil Body Wash. Although the product is not organic (and the manufacturer doesn‘t claim it to be), I think the brand name “Organix” is a bit of a marketing ploy.

I don’t really see any added benefit to some of the ingredients in the product such as the Argan oil, willow bark, and bamboo extract. Here’s a complete list of ingredients:

The only really positive things that I have to say about the product is that it does not leave an oily residue on your skin and it smells nice. Also, the Organix packaging is eco-friendly and recyclable. Other than this, I am not terribly impressed with this product. Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Creamy Oil body wash is comparable to a mediocre Dial or Soft Soap body wash, when it comes to the results. You may or may not agree, but this is my opinion.

I am happier with the results that I get using Dove and Olay body washes. I don’t think this is a good product for those amongst us with dry skin. Their Coconut Milk Hibiscus Body Wash is similar, except I don’t like the way it smells. At only 13 fl. oz. of product per bottle, the body wash does not last long.

Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Creamy Oil Body Wash is overpriced and not worth what I spent on it. I could easily purchase a Dove body wash for the same amount of money or less and get more bang for my buck. In fact, I recently got some 24 fl. oz. Dove body wash for practically nothing, thanks to the CVS extrabucks program and coupons. A few weeks ago, I checked the Organix product website and there weren't any printable coupons available. Organix manufacturer coupons are rarely available in the newspaper inserts. Therefore, unless I can get it at a cheaper price, I probably won’t try any other Organix body washes.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Target is a great place to shop for competitive priced personal care products. I bought a few items at a Super Target retail store last week Saturday and saved some money while I was at it. There was a sale on certain U by Kotex products. If you bought two packs of select U by Kotex items, you get a pack of specified U by Kotex product free.

This sale was advertised in the sales circular last week. I knew about it a week prior, because I saw it advertised on signage within the store. The sign was placed near the related products. I am one of those people that like to plan shopping trips to avoid impulse shopping, so this gave my time to plan accordingly.

This is a breakdown of the transaction and the items which were purchased (the price is next to each item):

U by Kotex pads 32 count $7.29U by Kotex pads 32 count $7.29U by Kotex tampons 18 count $4.16Aquafina distilled water $1.49Aquafina distilled water $1.49Sales tax $.88Total $18.74Minus 3- $1.00 coupons - $3.00Minus cost of free U by Kotex pack - $4.16Subtotal $14.58I used two $5.00 target gift cards that I received for free from Target to pay for the bulk of the order. Target offers customers free gift cards when they purchase certain advertised products. That’s how I got the free gift cards from prior purchases. So, the coupons, combined with the gift cards and the sale saved me some money. I paid only $5.44 out of pocket during this transaction. Not too shabby!

I actually had to go through the register line twice, because there was a little confusion about the product that was on sale vs. the product that I would receive for free. The product sizes listed in the sale circular ad was different from the sizes specified on the sale signage in the store. I had to bring the sign to the register in order to get things straightened out. The fact that items were put in the wrong place on shelves, added to the confusion. The cashiers were nice and helpful, though.